I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to safety ladders for above-the-ground swimming pools and more particularly to a safety ladder having a pivotal ladder section which is both detachable and capable of being swung up off the ground in order to prevent unauthorized access to the pool.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Many safety ladders for above-the-ground swimming pools have been disclosed in the prior art, such as in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,586,124, which provides a pivotal ladder section that may be swung up off the ground to prevent unauthorized access by small children. Such an arrangement has been found to be satisfactory when the pool is left unattended by an adult for a short period of time. However, it has been found that when the pool is left unattended for longer periods of time, such as, for example, when the family is away on vacation, naturally mischievous children desiring to use the pool have discovered innumerable alternate methods for reaching the up-swung ladder section and swinging the ladder section to its downward and accessible position. With the pivotal ladder section in its downward and accessible position, the swimming pool is easily accessible to all children in the area without adult supervision which encourages unauthorized use of the swimming pool and, all too often, results in tragic and sometimes fatal accidents.